New Delhi, July 31: Military personnel intensified search and rescue operations in Kerala's Wayanad district on Wednesday, following devastating landslides that have claimed over 100 lives. The Army reported recovering around 70 bodies and rescuing nearly 1,000 individuals so far.
The landslides, triggered by extremely heavy rain in the hilly areas of Wayanad early Tuesday, resulted in at least 132 fatalities and left more than 200 people injured.
Four columns from the Defence Security Corps (DSC) Centre in Kannur, along with the 122 TA Battalion, are conducting combined rescue operations with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state rescue teams, according to a senior Army official.
Two Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) columns, including two medical teams, were airlifted from Trivandrum to Kozhikode by AN32 and C-130 aircraft. They arrived at Kozhikode airport late Tuesday night and stayed overnight, the Army reported.
Officials have planned the movement of fuel and other administrative stores by road.
Brigadier Arjun Seagan, Commandant of the PARA Regiment Training Centre, arrived with his team late Tuesday night. They conducted a reconnaissance of a potential bridge site and established a control center for coordinating the Army's HADR efforts, supported by the commandant of the DSC Centre, according to reports.
Heavy engineering equipment and rescue dog teams were airlifted, and disaster relief teams were dispatched by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Tuesday.
The state government has requested the deployment of a 690-foot Bailey bridge. Up to 330 feet of the bridge is being transported from the Madras Engineer Group Centre in Bengaluru by road, while the remaining parts are being airlifted from Delhi Cantonment, the Army said late Tuesday.
